Dinner

The fried olives used to garnish this colorful salad just might become your new favorite. Try scattered over crostini or salads.

A malfatto (Italian for "badly made") is a tender dumpling with rustic character. (Think gnocchi, but bigger.)

Russets are ideal for this latke recipe. Their high starch content means you won't need flour to bind the pancakes.

The combination of sage, thyme, rosemary, and citrus provides a delicious, warming house-filling aroma. 

This dense quickbread is traditionally baked in empty coffee cans.

The secret to making grilled cheese for a crowd? Turn on the oven (the standard skillet method is too labor-intensive). Encourage guests to customize their sandwiches with the cheeses, breads, and fixings you’ve set out. Then simply pop them on a baking sheet and cook.

This thick Spanish sauce, made with roasted red peppers and almonds, is also delicious on grilled or roasted scallions, chicken, and fish.

Chef Viet Pham at Forage in Salt Lake City says: “For maximum flavor, I like to toast the nuts until they’re almost burnt.”

Lentils and fresh and dried mushrooms give this vegetarian casserole its meaty character. You can prepare most of it in advance and bake it just before your guests arrive.

Can’t find Treviso, the long, thin variety of radicchio? Substitute endive or any other member of the bitter chicory family to play off the sweet citrus dressing.

Use this toasted-hazelnut vinaigrette on any fall salad.

Sweeten the deal with pure maple syrup.

Chef Nate Hamilton at Harvest in Madison, WI, says: “Sometimes I sit and watch baseball and eat pistachios out of the can, but they’re better as a topper for pasta.”

We especially like the combination of parsnips, kohlrabi, and celery root in this bacony mash. Prepare the dish a day ahead to allow the flavors to meld (and save time on Thanksgiving Day).

Olive oil–enriched mashed potatoes enclose a layer of zesty braised kale in this savory cake, which then gets topped with crispy breadcrumbs.